Ladder attachment



P 1941- c. F. MARSHALL v 2,256,452

LADDER ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 10, 1959 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 16, 1941 parse 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a ladder attachment,-and especially to one. which has as its purpose the spacing of the upper end of a ladder from a surface that provides the necessary support for the ladder.

An object of the invention is to provide a ladder attachment of the character stated, which will preclude injuryto and defacement of any surface that supports the upper end of the ladder, for example a wall, an overhanging sign,

a sign or panel attached to a wall, and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ladder attachment with interchangeable heads whereby the ladder may be accommodated to various conditions of usage.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a ladder which incorporates an added factor for the safety of usage of the ladder.

Another object is to provide a ladder attachment of the character stated, which is simple and inexpensive of manufacture, and which may be manipulated by the user of the ladder, with safety and. ease under. all conditions-of usage.

.Another object. is to provide aladder attachment which is adjustable for accommodating various sizes and shapes of ladder side rails, and which may be displaced from an operative po sition whenever occasion demands.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a ladder carrying. the attachment of the "invention, and showing one manner of usage upon an advertising sign or.the like.

"Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the ladder attachment shown in Fig. l, withthe attachment head removed.

Fig.3 isan elevational view, partly in crosssection, showing a cushioned head for the extending shank of the ladder attachment.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a replacement head embodying a roller.

Fig.v 5 is an. elevational view of another attachment head of the hook variety.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of the ladder attachment of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing a modified form of latching means, the device being otherwise the same as'disclosed in Fig. 6.

In the use of common ladders, either of the extension type or of the one-piece type, it has been customary; to rest' the upper end of the ladder rails against, a" wall or other supporting surface'in order to enable a service man or other user to reachthe-desiredelevation at which-his rservic'esvare. required. .In placing the ladder, it is hardlypossible to prevent'injury to the sur- "facewhich' supports theiladder at its upper end, andrtlnsris true also When'an attempt ismade ;to displace or shift the ladderalong-such'surface, especially when removing a ladderfrom position upon completingl'the necessary-repair .job'or the: like. Particular difiiculty has been encountered in this connectionfwhen ladders must be used for the servicing .of advertising signs-which usually have-a highly finished surface, or a surface provided with sign letters of glass, porcelain or other materials which are capable of injury or d-efacement. The sign faces which are equipped with neon'lighting tubes are particularly susceptible to damage and breakage when a' ladder is placed against the sign surface incidental to cleaning the sign or replacing parts thereof. 'The -means of the present invention tising display means indicated at I0. Although the elements It are shown on one face only of the sign, it should be understood that such signs frequently are provided with the advertising elements applied to two or more faces thereof. In the particular type of sign disclosed, one or more hooks !2 are used for suspending the sign from a horizontal rod or bar I3 which may be supportedby means of guy wires or the like indicated at 14. The ladder which is shown supported at its upper endby the rod or bar I3 is indicated by the character l5, and it comprises the usual 'side rails l6 and "spanned by a series of rungs:|8.

At the upper end l9 of'the ladder, there is applied a rail clamp bracket 20, which extends transversely of the ladder rail, preferably atright angles thereto.

A bracket such as 20 is applied to each of the two ladder rails. The character 2| indicates a bracket shank or extension which projects lengthwise of the bracket and laterally beyond the rail, so that its free end may receive a shank head 22 which is particularly adapted for :use-with. a horizontalrod. or

bar such asl3.

With reference to Fig. 5 which shows the head 22 in detail, it will be observed that the socket end 23 is bored or otherwise hollowed as at 24 for the reception of shank 2| of the rail clamp bracket. The opposite end of the head 22 is developed into a pair of substantially parallel arms or guides 25 and 26 of which 25 is the greatest in length. The spacing between the arms 25 and 26 may be made sufficiently large for accommodating sign suspension rods or bars I3 of various sizes. By reason of the fact that arm 25 is longer than arm 26, and is disposed at a higher elevation when the device is in use, the facility and speed of placement of the upper end of a ladder in spaced relation to the suspension rod or bar, are materially enhanced. When in use the suspension bar rests against the abutting area 21 of the attachment head, between the arms 25 and 26.

In the position of the ladder attachment disclosed in Fig. 1, the upper end of the ladder, or an area near the upper end thereof, is grasped between a stationary abutment element 28 and an adjustable abutment element 29 of the bracket 20. The abutment element 28 preferably, though not necessarily, is adjustable so as to vary the space between the extension 30 and the body of the bracket. For this purpose, the element 28 may be slotted as at 3| to receive the head of a screw 32 which may be threaded into an aperture 33 provided in the upstanding leg 34 of the bracket. Both the upstanding leg and the extensible clamp element 28 may be serrated or otherwise roughened as at 35 to provide friction surfaces holding the parts in adjusted position. When the screw 32 is tightened it is accordingly impossible for the part 28 to shift relative to the leg 34.

At a distance from the upstanding leg 34, the movable or adjustable clamp element 29 is supported within the threaded bore 36 of a second upstanding leg 31, upon a threaded adjustment screw 38 which may be equipped with any suitable means 39, such as a thumb piece, whereby the screw may readily be rotated. At the location'lll, the shiftable abutment 29 may be rotatably supported so that it may not rotate with the screw upon applying the ladder attachment to a side rail of the ladder.

In that form of the invention illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2, the bracket shank 2| is fixed to, or is formed integrally with the bracket body 29, so that the shank bears always a definite substantially aligned relationship to the bracket. In another form of the invention, which will be explained hereinafter, the bracket shank may be rendered movable.

Attention is now directed to the interchangeable shank head of Fig. 3, which comprises a hollow sleeve 4| having fixed to one of its ends a bumper 42 made preferably of rubber or other cushioned material adapted to contact the wall, sign; or other supporting surface for the ladder. The sleeve is adapted to slide onto the free end of shank 2|, and to be held in position thereon preferably by means of a quick action latch. One

- form of such latch is disclosed by way of example and it comprises a spring steel strip 43 fixed to the sleeve at 44. The free end of the strip maybe shaped or otherwise equipped to furnish a finger piece whereby the strip may be flexed for withdrawing a latch element 45 from the interior ofth'e sleeve. If desired, the finger piece may be formed by thesimple expedient of bending the free end in any suitable manner, for example as indicated by the character 46. The latch element may be formed with an inclined face 41 adapted to strike the end 48 of the shank, when applying the sleeve to the shank, so that the latch element will automatically ride upon the surface of the shank until the end of the shank strikes an abutment 49, at which time the latch element will drop into a recess 50 of the shank. If desired, the cushion member 42 may be furnished in the form of a suction cup.

In the interchangeable head of Fig. 4, the latch arrangement 43 is the same as above explained, and it need not therefore be detailed by illustration. The Fig. 4 attachment, indicated generally by the character 5|, carries at its forward end a freely rotatable roller or wheel 52, which may be rubber tired or otherwise cushioned, if desired.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that any of the attachments disclosed in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 may be quickly applied to a shank 2| by simply forcing them onto the end thereof, and that accidental displacement of the attachments cannot occur due to the fact that the latch element must be deliberately withdrawn from the socket preliminary to removal of the attachments. I

In that form of the invention disclosed in Fig. 6, the shank 2| is a part separate from the bracket 53 and it includes a pivotal mounting 54 upon the bracket. The mounting may be effected by turning one end of the shank at right-angles and inserting it through an aperture 55 of the bracket, whereupon the connection may be made secure in any suitable manner, such as by means of a cotter pin 56 or other suitable equivalent fastener. In the operative position of the shank as disclosed in Figs. 6 and 7, the shank is precluded from rotating about its pivotal mounting in one direction, by means of a stop 51 fixed relative to the bracket. The stop may be of any acceptable configuration. Movement of the shank upon its pivotal mounting in the opposite direction preferably is normally restrained by means of a displaceable shank latch 58 that may be projected into the path of movement of the shank. The restraining means including the latch 58 may comprise a pin 59 slidably supported by the perforate cars 60 and SI of the bracket. A spring 62 is arranged to constantly urge the shank latch 58 to the operative restraining position shown. Forconvenience in withdrawing the latch against the force of spring 62, a, suitable knob or other actuator 63 may be provided on the end of the pin which is opposite to the shank latch. The character 64 indicates a fiat formed on the pin for the purpose of precluding rotational movement thereof.

By withdrawing the pin 59 sufficiently to free the shank 2|, said shank may rotate about its pivotal mounting'54, to an inoperative position with respect to the bracket and the ladder rails. The ladder thereupon may be used in the normal manner, without regard to the fact that the ladder attachment bracket is in position thereon. When returning the shank to the operative position at which the shank extends lengthwise of the bracket, it is necessary only to swing the shank toward the stop 51 until it strikes the inclined face 65, whereupon the force of impact will automatically effect retraction of the pin 59, permitting the shank to assume the latched position of Fig. 7.

The bracket 53, like the bracket 29 of Fig. 2, may be provided with an adjustable rail clamp piece 66 having the serrations or roughened surface 6'! for engaging a similarly roughened face 68 of the bracket extension 69. The Fig. 6 device includes also the adjustable clamp member 29 described previously in connection with Fig. 2. The shank of Fig. 6 may have a socket formed therein corresponding to the socket 50 of Fig. 2 in the event that the attachments are equipped with a self-operative latch such as 45, although in the absence of that type of latch the shank may be left plain enabling fixation of the various attachment heads thereto with the use of other types of fasteners. A common fastener that might be employed, is the thumb screw indicated at 1B of Fig. 1. When a thumb screw is employed, it may be found desirable to only slightly notch or recess the shank at a proper location to provide a seat for the inner end of the screw, thereupon precluding rotation of the attachment head relative to the shank.

From the foregoing, it should readily be evident that the means of the invention, in addition to presenting the various advantages specified in the introduction to the specification, in no manner interferes in normal use of the ladder when the shank is swung to the inoperative position. The user may interchange the shank heads while at the top of the ladder, if he so desires, by merely pushing the upper end of the ladder away from the wall or other support, sufficiently to permit removal of one attachment head and substituting therefor a head 6f another type. In actual practice, however, the substitution of shank heads ordinarily will be effected when the ladder is not in use. The type of head disclosed in Fig. 5 is particularly useful when applied in the manner illustrated by Fig. 1.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in structural details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. By way of example, the latch may be constructed as illustrated in Fig. 8, wherein 2! indicates the shank which is pivoted as in Fig. 6 for movement vertically past the claw H of latch piece 12 when the latter is moved outwardly about its pivot 13 against the resistance of a compression spring 14. The extension 75 provides a finger piece for thusly displacing the latch element. As illustrated, the opposite ends of spring 14 abut the body of the bracket and the extension 15, however it should readily be understood that slight alteration of details may be resorted to, especially in the event that it appears desirable to substitute a leaf spring for the helical type of spring illustrated. The slope TB of the latch element enables the shank to be swung to the Fig. 8 position, displacing the latch automatically for entry into the recess 1! formed by the projecting pivot lug 18. The pivot lug preferably is integral with the bracket body, and is bifurcated to furnish spaced parallel arms for embracing the pivoted latch piece 12. To release the shank 2!, it is necessary only to depress the finger piece of the latch element.

What is claimed is:

1. A ladder attachment of the class described, comprising in combination, a bracket including means for clamping the bracket to a ladder side rail, a shank on the bracket having a free end extending transversely of and beyond the rail, and a detachable head removably fitted to the free end of the shank, comprising a sleeve portion receptive of said free end, and a pair of spaced substantially parallel arms projecting from said sleeve portion, one of said arms being of greater length than the other and disposed in overlying relationship to the shorter arm, both of said arms being extended at substan tially a right angle to the ladder rail and in a plane parallel thereto.

2. The combination which comprises a ladder having rungs and connecting side rails, a bracket including means for clamping it to one of said rails, and an extending shank on the bracket projecting transversely of the ladder rail, a head on the shank, and a pair of spaced substantially parallel arms on said head, of unequal length, the longer one of said arms being disposed in overlying relationship to the shorter arm, both of said arms being disposed at substantially a right angle to the ladder rail and in a plane parallel thereto.

3. In a ladder attachment of the class described, the combination of an elongated ladder rail bracket including clamp means for securing the bracket to the rail transversely thereof,

said bracket having a rear end and a forward end, a shank having a free end and an end pivotally mounted upon the rear end of the bracket so as to be swung through an arc to and from substantial alignment with the major axis of the bracket, a stop on the bracket for limiting swinging movement of the shank past the forward end of the bracket, and a releasable latch for holding the shank against the stop.

4. In a ladder attachment of the class described, the combination of an elongated ladder rail bracket including clamp means for securing the bracket to the rail transversely thereof, said bracket having a rear end and a forward end, a shank having a free end and an end pivotally mounted upon the rear end of the bracket so as to be swung through an arc to and from substantial alignment with the major axis of the bracket, and means at the forward end of the bracket for selectively anchoring the shank against swinging movement from the aligned position aforesaid.

CHARLES F. MARSHALL. 

